Quiet HDD's [Archive] - Kustom PC's Forums

Big Adam

31-07-2003, 22:37

Graeme = Mr Sensitive :D

Never had a IV so couldn't comment, however all the tests I read had the V dba value lower than the IV.

But G is the man with the practical experience, so I bow to his opinion! http://www.pcreview.co.uk/images/smilies/bow.gif

Big A

Sharky

31-07-2003, 22:42

Originally posted by Big Adam
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/images/smilies/bow.gif

Big A

LOL

conan

31-07-2003, 22:53

I think the noisy HDD Graeme was talking about was the SATA v. Afaik the ATA are just as quite as the IV.

(waits for somebody to blow him out of the water)

Sharky

31-07-2003, 22:54

Ooops, my bad

Graeme*Kustom*

01-08-2003, 12:28

Guys, it's the SATA and Barracuda 7 IDE drives from Seagate that are noisy - the Barracuda IV and most V models are fine.

Maxtor have slightly louder idle , but head seek is v.quiet !

guybirch

01-08-2003, 13:14

/me adds a 120gb Barracuda V to me list

Gordy

01-08-2003, 14:56

Graeme are the SATA ones not quiet there is a barracuda V version of the SATA drive wouldnt it be the same as the ide version? I know the model .7 ones are very noisey?

For IDE drives the Barracuda's are ace, cant be beaten at the mo :)

Big Adam

01-08-2003, 15:01

I'll second that.

I have 3x 80Gb 'cuda Vs and I can't fault them.

Big A

Gordy

01-08-2003, 17:45

Dunno if the info on the seagate site is correct but heres a comparison

SATA barracuda V
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,564,00.html
2.5 bels idle acoustics

Barracuda 7200.7
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,587,00.html
Idle acoustics of 2.5 bels

Barracuda IV
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,381,00.html
2.4 bels idle acoustics

Barracuda V
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,559,00.html
2.5 bels idle acoustics

Clarksy

01-08-2003, 17:45

Have 120GB seagate VI in a shuttle at work and a 120 Maxtor DM9 8mb Cache at home.

The Maxtor seeks are quiet loud - especially if you parition it and access data across partions ( i.e copy from D: to C: ) But i dont mind that - its nice to hear the drive clicking away when you lauch a program or open a file. The seagate seeks are almost silent.

When its not reading, the maxtor is very quiet - but the seagate just beats it here too.

I'd go for the seagate.

McToby

04-08-2003, 17:59

I have two 40Gb 'cuda IV and they are virtually silent, highly recommended.
.
something that does affect noise level of the drive is the number of platters inside the HDD, the more platters the higher capacity of the drive but also the more noise....
.
Single platter HDD's are 'cuda V up to (and including) 80Gb or the older IV up to (and including) 40Gb
.

:cool:

Alan

04-08-2003, 19:03

I have a Barricuda IV on one machine and a Barricuda V SATA on another. I don't notice any significant difference so don't worryt about taking a SATA V

gb115

05-09-2003, 01:38

I've had a 80Gb IV and 4 * 120Gb Vs (non SATA)

the Vs are noticeably louder, though they have more platters - basically the less platters the less noise.

I heard a 40Gb or more like I didn't - you couldn't tell it was on.

slight whine on the IV, slightly more on the Vs

I ended up putting them in a aluminium enclosure (Smart Drive 2002 - imported from america). which makes them run slightly quieter.

eXistenZ

05-09-2003, 14:36

I just got a Seagate 7200.7 with 8mb cache, and its completely silent. Even taking the case side off and sticking my head right next to it I can't hear it.

joshwa

03-10-2003, 16:12

anyone have any experience of samsung drives? 7200.7 80gb vs samsung 80gb - would they both be 1 platter?

Thanks

Josh

chris ladbrook

03-10-2003, 18:54

my WD's are V.Quiet :P and i shud no as i have no fans ;) :D

Enzo

14-11-2003, 01:13

Okay folks, I've read this thread several times now as I want to make sure I get the right drives for my systems.
I'm after 2 120GB drives and 1 80GB.

As it's almost impossible to get a 'cuda IV or V, so I'm thinking of getting a Maxtor DiamondMax 9 80GB with 8MB cache

And 2 Barracuda 7200.7 120GB both with 8MB cache.

Before I spend my hard earned cash, would anyone like to jump in a advise me for or against either of these drives?

Thanx

gb115

14-11-2003, 01:26

have a look on www.storagereview.com for some definitive answers

I've been hearing good things on both performance and noise fronts from the toshiba/ibm drives - come in nice large capacities too.

have no actual experience of them (yet) though

joshwa

14-11-2003, 10:15

i've now got an 80gb samsung ide drive, and it is Very quiet and Very fast ! I can hardly hear it and I've got a *really* quiet pc - plus they come with 3yr warranty ! :)

blackstar

15-11-2003, 19:56

Originally posted by Enzo
Okay folks, I've read this thread several times now as I want to make sure I get the right drives for my systems.
I'm after 2 120GB drives and 1 80GB.

As it's almost impossible to get a 'cuda IV or V, so I'm thinking of getting a Maxtor DiamondMax 9 80GB with 8MB cache

And 2 Barracuda 7200.7 120GB both with 8MB cache.

Before I spend my hard earned cash, would anyone like to jump in a advise me for or against either of these drives?

Thanx
i bought two 7200.7's SATA, and they were both very noisy. they dont support AAM either..

the +9 is great set to silent seeks using IBM's Ftool.

Enzo

15-11-2003, 21:56

Blackstar - I'm not going for SATA drives. I'll be getting IDE instead, my mobo doesn't support SATA. Cheers.

blackstar

15-11-2003, 23:37

i would assume that with the exception of the drive controller board (and firmware), the drive hardware is identical between the 7200.7 ATA and SATA..
this would lead to identical seek/ idle noise, as the data rate between ATA and SATA 7200.7's is nearly identical (so, the firmware is probably set to the same performance leve).
cheers :)

Enzo

25-11-2003, 19:01

Okay. Here's an update on my HDD purchasing.

I went out and got myself a Maxtor 80gb with 8mb cache, thinking it would be both fast and quite. I'm sorry to say that it really lets me down on the latter. The drive is very fast but hell does it make a noise when it accesses the disks. It makes a nasty "grinding" noise every now and then and it was really getting on my tits, so I've swapped back to my 40GB Maxtor :(

So if your after a quite drive, avoid the Maxtor 80gb with 8mb cache. Mfr part #: 6Y080P0.

Update: Ignore what I previously said about this drive. Make sure you get a copy of Hitachi Feature Tool v1.90. You can create a boot disk which allows you to change certain things on the drive. I have changed the acoustic level a tad and it's now running fast and near silent.

I'm sooooo happy :D

[M]uuhh

25-11-2003, 19:06

i have 2* 40gig dm8 and the working noise is none existent.

blackstar

25-11-2003, 21:59

download IBM ftool to set acoustic management to "on" on maxtor drives..

Enzo

27-11-2003, 19:49

Originally posted by blackstar
download IBM ftool to set acoustic management to "on" on maxtor drives..

Cheers for that. I've just downloaded a copy and I'll give it a try later. I knew I'd read about some IBM software for Maxtor drives, but couldn't find it anywhere.

blackstar

27-11-2003, 20:13

how did you get on?

Enzo

28-11-2003, 19:37

Originally posted by blackstar
how did you get on?

Very well thanx. I created the boot disk, and changed the acoustic level and now I have one very quite drive, very fast drive.

Cheers m8.

I'll have to amend my previous comments about the drive now.

blackstar

28-11-2003, 19:59

great!
i was very annoyed with the noise of my Maxtors, so I trawled a few forums/ sites until finding that app - very effective IMO.

glad it helped :D

ciipher

29-11-2003, 16:07

Originally posted by joshwa
i've now got an 80gb samsung ide drive, and it is Very quiet and Very fast ! I can hardly hear it and I've got a *really* quiet pc - plus they come with 3yr warranty ! :)

I got a 160Gb Samsung Spinpoint and I can honestly say it's the quietest drive I've ever heard, even quieter than my old Seagate barracuda V :D

And nothing says peace of mind more than 3 year warranty!